VOA新闻杂志2023 香蕉树茎可化作新兴可持续的纤维材料?（在线收听）

香蕉树茎可化作新兴可持续的纤维材料?

Banana plant stems are mostly useless following harvest of the fruit.

香蕉树茎在果实收获后大多毫无用处。

It takes time and work to remove the stem from the ground.

把茎从地里拔出来需要时间和劳动。

Then the farmers have to crush the plant waste to small pieces to spread around crops.

农民不得不把香蕉树废弃物碾碎成小块，散布在庄稼周围。

But is there a better way to deal with the plant waste?

但是，有没有更好的方法来处理香蕉树废弃物呢？

A company in Uganda says yes.

乌干达的一家公司表示有。

The business is collecting banana stems to process the plant tissue and make products.

该公司收集香蕉茎，加工该香蕉树组织，并制造产品。

The idea is both new and sustainable in the East African country where banana plants are very important.

在这个香蕉树非常重要的东非国家，这个想法既新颖又可持续。

Uganda has the highest rate of banana use in the world.

乌干达是世界上香蕉使用率最高的国家。

The country is Africa's top banana crop producer.

该国是非洲最大的香蕉生产国。

A young local business, TEXFAD, deals with the banana plant waste.

当地一家年轻企业TEXFAD专门处理香蕉树废弃物。

Now, it says it is making a profit from all the rotting stems.

如今，该公司表示，它正在从所有腐烂的茎杆中获利。

TEXFAD collects some of the plant tissue and uses it to make products like floor coverings, containers for home goods and more.

TEXFAD收集一些香蕉树茎，并用它来制造地板覆盖物、家居用品容器等产品。

John Baptist Okello leads the business division of TEXFAD.

约翰·巴普蒂斯特·奥凯洛是TEXFAD业务部的负责人。

He told the Associated Press that the business made sense in a country where farmers "are struggling" with millions of tons of banana-related waste.

他告诉美联社，在一个农民正在费力处理数百万吨与香蕉有关的废物的国家，这项业务是有意义的。

The company works with seven different farmers' groups in western Uganda.

该公司与乌干达西部的七个不同的农民组织合作。

It pays $2.70 for a kilogram of dried fiber.

每公斤干纤维的价格为2.70美元。

David Bangirana is the leader of one such group in Sheema District.

大卫·班吉拉纳是希马区一个农民组织的领导人。

He said only a small part of the stem is used for fiber.

他说，香蕉树茎只有一小部分用于生产纤维。

He said that the rest of the crushed plant remains is returned to the farmer for use as fertilizer.

他说，剩下被碾碎的部分会归还给农民用作肥料。

TEXFAD also takes material from a third party, Tupande Holdings Ltd.

TEXFAD还从第三方图潘德控股有限公司那里获得材料。

Its trucks transport banana stems from farmers in central Uganda.

它的卡车运送来自乌干达中部地区农民的香蕉树茎。

Tupande's workers search the stems for the best candidates as fiber.

Tupande的工作人员在茎中寻找最好的部分用于生产纤维。

Machines then turn the fiber into threads, thin long pieces of cloth.

然后机器将纤维制成线，即细长的布料。

Aggrey Muganga is the team leader at Tupande Holdings Ltd.

阿格雷·穆甘加是图潘德控股有限公司的团队负责人。

He said his company deals with more than 60 farmers who continuously supply surplus raw material.

他说，他的公司与60多家不断供应过剩原材料的农民打交道。

That number is only a small part of what is available in a country where banana crops makes up more than a million hectares of land.

在一个香蕉现有种植面积超过100万公顷的国家，这个数字只是一小部分。

Banana production has been increasing over the years.

多年来，香蕉产量一直在增加。

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics found that banana production rose from 6.5 metric tons in 2018 to 8.3 metric tons in 2019.

乌干达统计局发现，香蕉产量从2018年的6.5吨增加到2019年的8.3吨。

Muganga said that they put extra income in the hands of the farmers.

穆甘加说，他们把额外的收入交到农民手中。

He added, "We turn this waste into something valuable that we sell to our partners who also make things."

他补充说，“我们把这些废物变成有价值的东西，然后卖给我们的制作物品的合作伙伴。”

At a plant just outside the Ugandan capital Kampala, TEXFAD employs more than 30 people who use their hands to make products from banana fiber.

在乌干达首都坎帕拉郊外的一家工厂里，TEXFAD雇佣了30多名员工，他们用双手制作香蕉纤维产品。

The company is now exporting some products to Europe.

该公司目前正在向欧洲出口一些产品。

Such products are possible because "banana fiber can be softened to the level of cotton," Okello said.

奥凯洛说，之所以能够生产出这种产品，是因为“香蕉纤维可以软化到像棉花一样柔软。”

The company can make some paper products with the material.

该公司可能会用这种材料制造一些纸制品。

It is working with researchers to experiment with possible cloth from banana fiber.

该公司正在与研究人员合作，尝试用香蕉纤维制作布料。

However, it does not have the technology to make clothing, Okello said.

然而，奥凯洛说，该公司没有制造服装的技术。